Latest news with #LongQTSyndrome
Time Business News
2 days ago
- Health
- Time Business News
From Compassion to Action: The Inspiring Journey of Andi Sklar
In a world saturated with talk and short on follow-through, there are few individuals who truly embody the transition from compassion to meaningful action. Andi Sklar is one of those rare people. She doesn't just feel deeply—she acts decisively, making a real difference in people's lives every single day. From comforting grieving families to advocating for medical research and equity in education, Sklar's journey is not just inspiring—it's a blueprint for how one person can create lasting change. Andi Sklar's philanthropic journey didn't start with a million-dollar check or a grand fundraising gala. It began with a story—a child lost to a preventable heart condition called Long QT Syndrome (LQTS). The tragedy shook her to the core and lit a fire in her heart. Rather than simply mourning from a distance, she took action. She began funding awareness efforts, supporting genetic testing programs, and helping other families navigate the trauma of sudden cardiac conditions. From that moment on, compassion became her compass, and action became her mission. While many philanthropists give in broad strokes, Andi Sklar's approach is personal, immediate, and intentional. She: Listens directly to those in need Identifies overlooked or urgent situations Responds with empathy and speed Follows through with continued support This isn't performative charity. This is people-first giving. Whether helping a single mom pay rent or ensuring a child receives life-saving care, Sklar shows up—fully and consistently. One of Sklar's most impactful efforts has been her tireless work to raise awareness about Long QT Syndrome, a rare but deadly heart rhythm disorder. Her contributions include: Funding research and early screening programs Helping families afford critical medical testing Organizing educational outreach campaigns Speaking out about the human cost of medical blind spots Because of her action, many families have received timely diagnoses, and lives have been saved. Her story-driven advocacy has put a human face on a condition that's too often misunderstood or ignored. Sklar's vision goes far beyond short-term relief. She believes in empowerment—helping individuals and families move from crisis to confidence. Her work includes: Funding scholarships and school supplies for underserved students Supporting job training and mentorship programs Investing in inclusive education initiatives for children with special needs Offering financial support without stigma, red tape, or delay This level of personal investment allows families not only to survive hardship—but to build better futures. Perhaps one of the most poignant aspects of Sklar's philanthropy is her presence during grief and loss. She has quietly funded funeral expenses, offered emotional support to grieving parents, and honored the memories of lost loved ones through action and remembrance. Her work has helped ease the burden for those suffering unimaginable loss—ensuring that no one has to walk that dark path alone. Andi Sklar's story reminds us that true philanthropy doesn't need a spotlight. In fact, she often prefers to work behind the scenes, without recognition or fanfare. Her motivation? Love. Justice. Humanity. She's not building a brand—she's building a legacy of compassion. And that authenticity resonates deeply with those around her. Others are inspired to give, to volunteer, to get involved—because her story makes kindness contagious. Andi Sklar doesn't view giving as a one-time act. For her, it's a daily practice. Whether responding to a GoFundMe for a sick child or mentoring a struggling teen, she wakes up each day asking, 'How can I help someone today?' This mindset shift—from passive sympathy to daily action—is something anyone can adopt. It's not about having endless resources—it's about showing up with whatever you can offer: your time, your voice, your compassion. Andi Sklar's journey from compassion to action shows us that anyone—yes, anyone—can make a difference. You don't need to be a billionaire or start a foundation. You just need to care. And then… do something about it. So the next time you hear about someone in need, don't just feel bad—be moved to act. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Comfort. Show up. Because that's what Andi Sklar does. And in doing so, she reminds us that the smallest act of kindness can start a ripple of hope that transforms lives. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
"It Happened In Under A Couple Of Minutes": 17 Incredibly Rare And Bizarre Ways People Met Their End
Note: This post contains sometimes graphic descriptions of deaths. Recently, Reddit user u/Mairon3791 asked, "What's an actual cause of death so extremely rare that it's hard to believe it's possible?" I was led down a-many rabbit holes of real deaths I cannot even fathom. Here's everything people shared: 1."In 1988, a dog fell from a building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, landed in a woman's head, killing her and the dog instantaneously. Then, another lady, completely confused, watching the event unfolding from the middle of a road, was run over by a bus; then shortly after that, an older man died from a heart attack out of the commotion of seeing both deaths. This happened in under a couple of minutes." —discardme123now Here's the newspaper clipping published after the event. 2."I heard that a sinkhole formed under some man's bedroom and took him with it. It was so deep that they couldn't find him. Definitely a unique death situation." —cartoonsarcasm This is a true story that happened in Florida. 3."My mother-in-law used to be a surgeon. She told me about a patient they had back in the '90s. He died because of holding in a sneeze. Turns out he had an aneurysm in his brain that popped at that moment." —EducationalJelly6121 4."Innocent people have gone to jail for murder because the real explanation for why someone died was so rare and infrequent that courts didn't believe those explanations as plausible. Two cases off the top of my head: Lindy Chamberlain (a dingo actually did eat her baby) and Kathleen Folbigg (had four children die from a rare genetic mutation). —badgersprite Similarly, "Patricia Stallings was wrongfully convicted of murder after the death of her son in 1989. Because testing seemed to indicate an elevated level of ethylene glycol in Ryan's blood, authorities suspected antifreeze poisoning, and they arrested Stallings the next day. She was convicted in 1991. In jail, she had another baby, diagnosed with methylmalonic acidemia (MMA), a rare genetic disorder that can mimic antifreeze poisoning." –tmink0220 5."Laughing to death. Fifty-year-old Alex Mitchell could not stop laughing for a continuous 25-minute period—almost the entire length of a TV show called Kung Fu Kapers and suffered a fatal heart attack as a result of the strain placed on his heart. Alex's widow later sent The Goodies, who were staring in that show, a letter thanking them for making his final moments so pleasant." —Ochib Doctors initially believed Mitchell suffered a heart attack from the laughter, but in 2012, his granddaughter suffered a near-fatal cardiac arrest, too. Doctors diagnosed her with Long QT Syndrome, a heart rhythm disorder, which doctors think could have also caused Mitchell's death. Related: 26 People Who Had Overwhelming Gut Instincts They Couldn't Were Right 6."Drowning in the desert. A guy got caught in a box canyon during a flash flood. The water was quickly reabsorbed into the dry desert soil and left a drowned man in the middle of the desert." —Eponarose 7."Guy's beard was so long that when he tried to flee a house fire, he tripped over it and broke his neck, falling down the stairs. Dude was a mayor, too. Hans something or other." —Former-Finish4653 You can actually see the deathly beard at the local museum in Braunau am Inn, Austria (yes, they kept it). 8."Fatal familial insomnia (FFI): you can't sleep, and you don't sleep until you die, and it runs in the family." — On a similar note, since FFI is a prion disease (as is "mad cow disease"), "Prion diseases. For some random reason, a protein gets folded the wrong way and totally fucks you up. It's not alive; you can't kill it or fight it with drugs or antibiotics. Your immune system is helpless against it. It causes more proteins to become misfolded and spread through your body. Even after you die, your corpse is a hazard because the misfolded proteins are still there, waiting." —Jeramy_Jones Related: 51 People Who Quickly Discovered Why Their Hilariously Clueless Partner Was Single Before Meeting Them 9."I used to work with a man who had an older relative come to the hospital with symptoms suggesting a stroke, and he died later that evening. I don't remember all the details, but everyone thought the family might be sitting on a big fat lawsuit until the labs all came back. The relative had a type of leukemia that is diagnosed about 10 times a year in the US, and they've never come up with a chemotherapy protocol for it because nobody has ever lived long enough for them to do so." —wilderlowerwolves to legend, "Greek philosopher Aeschylus was killed when an eagle dropped a turtle on his head, mistaking his bald pate for a rock." —lorgskyegon 11."That one guy who died after getting stuck face-first in an extremely claustrophobic cave. They could get to him but couldn't get him out. Just left his body in the cave and cemented the thing shut. Nutty Putty Cave." —Grombrindal18 Here's the Salt Lake Tribune's retelling of the attempted rescue of John Edwards Jones at Nutty Putty Cave. 12."Beaver bites. I always think about that guy in Belarus." In 2013, a fisherman in Belarus was trying to take a photo of a beaver when it bit him on his thigh, severing an artery, and killed him. 13."Some rich lady in the early days of automobiles was known for always wearing long scarfs, and one day it got caught in her wheels and snapped her neck." —Snake_Plissken224 They are referring to the story of dancer Isadora Duncan, who was strangled by her scarf, which got caught in the rear wheel of a sports car in 1927. The cause of death coined the term "Long Scarf Syndrome," aka when someone suffers accidental strangulation due to their scarf getting tangled in heavy machinery (she's not the only one it's happened to). 14."[Drinking too much water]... A woman named Jennifer Strange died of water intoxication while she was trying to win a Wii. A radio station had a contest called 'Hold Your Wee for a Wii,' where you had to drink as much water as possible without going to the bathroom. She drank nearly two gallons of water and ended up dying. The radio station's parent company paid over $16M to her family in damages." —ostentia 15."Every year, a small handful of people still have polio on their death certificates. Post-polio syndrome can develop decades after a person is first exposed to polio, and it's occasionally severe enough to kill someone." —othybear "Towards the end of his life, my grandfather suffered from various effects of post-polio syndrome. He had contracted the disease as a 10-year-old child some 80 years previously." —millijuna 16."When I was an emergency call taker, we had an accident where the guy carrying his plate back to the kitchen slipped, fell, and cut his own throat with a broken plate shard. He bled out before services were able to get there." —kiyiya101 And lastly: 17."This woman was getting a drink and had a metal straw in her cup. She slipped, and the metal straw punctured her eye and went through her brain. Crazy way to go out." —J120101 Have any other weird and strange deaths to share? Let us know in the comments! Also in Internet Finds: 15 Facebook Marketplace Items You'll Wish, From The Depths Of Your Soul, You Could Unsee Also in Internet Finds: People Are Confessing Their Absolute Pettiest "Revenge Served Cold" Stories, And It's Deliciously Entertaining Also in Internet Finds: 19 Things Society Glorifies That Are Actually Straight-Up Terrible, And We Need To Stop Pretending Otherwise
Buzz Feed
26-05-2025
- Health
- Buzz Feed
17 Extremely Rare Ways People Have Died
Recently, Reddit user u/Mairon3791 asked, "What's an actual cause of death so extremely rare that it's hard to believe it's possible?" I was led down a-many rabbit holes of real deaths I cannot even fathom. Here's everything people shared: "In 1988, a dog fell from a building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, landed in a woman's head, killing her and the dog instantaneously. Then, another lady, completely confused, watching the event unfolding from the middle of a road, was run over by a bus; then shortly after that, an older man died from a heart attack out of the commotion of seeing both deaths. This happened in under a couple of minutes." —discardme123nowHere's the newspaper clipping published after the event. "I heard that a sinkhole formed under some man's bedroom and took him with it. It was so deep that they couldn't find him. Definitely a unique death situation." —cartoonsarcasmThis is a true story that happened in Florida. "My mother-in-law used to be a surgeon. She told me about a patient they had back in the '90s. He died because of holding in a sneeze. Turns out he had an aneurysm in his brain that popped at that moment." —EducationalJelly6121 "Innocent people have gone to jail for murder because the real explanation for why someone died was so rare and infrequent that courts didn't believe those explanations as plausible. Two cases off the top of my head: Lindy Chamberlain (a dingo actually did eat her baby) and Kathleen Folbigg (had four children die from a rare genetic mutation). —badgerspriteSimilarly, "Patricia Stallings was wrongfully convicted of murder after the death of her son in 1989. Because testing seemed to indicate an elevated level of ethylene glycol in Ryan's blood, authorities suspected antifreeze poisoning, and they arrested Stallings the next was convicted in 1991. In jail, she had another baby, diagnosed with methylmalonic acidemia (MMA), a rare genetic disorder that can mimic antifreeze poisoning."–tmink0220 "Laughing to death. Fifty-year-old Alex Mitchell could not stop laughing for a continuous 25-minute period—almost the entire length of a TV show called Kung Fu Kapers and suffered a fatal heart attack as a result of the strain placed on his heart. Alex's widow later sent The Goodies, who were staring in that show, a letter thanking them for making his final moments so pleasant." —OchibDoctors initially believed Mitchell suffered a heart attack from the laughter, but in 2012, his granddaughter suffered a near-fatal cardiac arrest, too. Doctors diagnosed her with Long QT Syndrome, a heart rhythm disorder, which doctors think could have also caused Mitchell's death. "Drowning in the desert. A guy got caught in a box canyon during a flash flood. The water was quickly reabsorbed into the dry desert soil and left a drowned man in the middle of the desert." —Eponarose "Guy's beard was so long that when he tried to flee a house fire, he tripped over it and broke his neck, falling down the stairs. Dude was a mayor, too. Hans something or other." —Former-Finish4653You can actually see the deathly beard at the local museum in Braunau am Inn, Austria (yes, they kept it). "Fatal familial insomnia (FFI): you can't sleep, and you don't sleep until you die, and it runs in the family." —On a similar note, since FFI is a prion disease (as is "mad cow disease"), "Prion diseases. For some random reason, a protein gets folded the wrong way and totally fucks you up. It's not alive; you can't kill it or fight it with drugs or antibiotics. Your immune system is helpless against it. It causes more proteins to become misfolded and spread through your body. Even after you die, your corpse is a hazard because the misfolded proteins are still there, waiting."—Jeramy_Jones "I used to work with a man who had an older relative come to the hospital with symptoms suggesting a stroke, and he died later that evening. I don't remember all the details, but everyone thought the family might be sitting on a big fat lawsuit until the labs all came back. The relative had a type of leukemia that is diagnosed about 10 times a year in the US, and they've never come up with a chemotherapy protocol for it because nobody has ever lived long enough for them to do so." According to legend, "Greek philosopher Aeschylus was killed when an eagle dropped a turtle on his head, mistaking his bald pate for a rock." —lorgskyegon "That one guy who died after getting stuck face-first in an extremely claustrophobic cave. They could get to him but couldn't get him out. Just left his body in the cave and cemented the thing shut. Nutty Putty Cave." —Grombrindal18Here's the Salt Lake Tribune's retelling of the attempted rescue of John Edwards Jones at Nutty Putty Cave. "Beaver bites. I always think about that guy in Belarus." In 2013, a fisherman in Belarus was trying to take a photo of a beaver when it bit him on his thigh, severing an artery, and killed him. "Some rich lady in the early days of automobiles was known for always wearing long scarfs, and one day it got caught in her wheels and snapped her neck." —Snake_Plissken224They are referring to the story of dancer Isadora Duncan, who was strangled by her scarf, which got caught in the rear wheel of a sports car in 1927. The cause of death coined the term "Long Scarf Syndrome," aka when someone suffers accidental strangulation due to their scarf getting tangled in heavy machinery (she's not the only one it's happened to). "[Drinking too much water]... A woman named Jennifer Strange died of water intoxication while she was trying to win a Wii. A radio station had a contest called 'Hold Your Wee for a Wii,' where you had to drink as much water as possible without going to the bathroom. She drank nearly two gallons of water and ended up dying. The radio station's parent company paid over $16M to her family in damages." —ostentia "Every year, a small handful of people still have polio on their death certificates. Post-polio syndrome can develop decades after a person is first exposed to polio, and it's occasionally severe enough to kill someone." —othybear"Towards the end of his life, my grandfather suffered from various effects of post-polio syndrome. He had contracted the disease as a 10-year-old child some 80 years previously."—millijuna "When I was an emergency call taker, we had an accident where the guy carrying his plate back to the kitchen slipped, fell, and cut his own throat with a broken plate shard. He bled out before services were able to get there." —kiyiya101 And lastly: "This woman was getting a drink and had a metal straw in her cup. She slipped, and the metal straw punctured her eye and went through her brain. Crazy way to go out." —J120101 Have any other weird and strange deaths to share? Let us know in the comments!
Cision Canada
13-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Thryv Therapeutics to Share Recent Clinical Results and Participate in Upcoming Healthcare Investor Conferences
MONTREAL, May 13, 2025 /CNW/ - Thryv Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing a series of novel serum glucocorticoid inducible kinase 1 (SGK1) inhibitors for cardiovascular diseases, today announced its participation in two upcoming prominent investor conferences in New York City. The company will share recent clinical results in Long QT Syndrome presented at the 2025 Heart Rhythm Society Annual Meeting and recent developments for its pre-clinical and clinical programs for both heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Clinical Results Presented at HRS 2025 On April 27, 2025, Thryv presented new clinical data from Part 2 of the Wave I study at the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) Annual Meeting. The study enrolled adult patients with genetically confirmed Long QT Syndrome Type 2 or Type 3 who received oral doses of LQT-1213 at either 7 mg TID or 16 mg TID for 2⅓ days (seven total doses). LQT-1213 appeared to be generally well-tolerated across both dose groups. Clinically meaningful and statistically significant reductions in QTcF interval were observed in the high dose cohort. Key regulatory endpoints for Long QT Syndrome – such as QTcF area under the curve (AUC) and maximal peak-to-trough effects – demonstrated mean reductions of up to 11 milliseconds (p=0.028) for QTcF AUC. In a subsequent analysis of peak-to-trough changes, the 53 milliseconds (p<0.0001) reduction in QTc is consistent with publications of other drugs studied but not approved for this indication. These results provide important clinical proof-of-concept that LQT-1213 – part of Thryv's series of highly selective SGK1 inhibitors – may offer a disease-modifying approach and lay the foundation for continued clinical development of SGK1 Inhibitors for Long QT Syndrome. Upcoming Investor Conferences RBC Capital Markets Global Healthcare Conference 2025 Dates: May 20–21, 2025 Fireside Chat: Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 9:30 am EST (Track IV – 2 nd Floor) Location: InterContinental New York Barclay, New York, NY Thryv Therapeutics will participate in a fireside chat and host one-on-one meetings with investors about its future program plans and Series B financing throughout the conference. Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference 2025 Dates: June 3–5, 2025 Location: New York Marriott Marquis, New York, NY Thryv Therapeutics will participate in one-on-one investor meetings. To request a meeting at either conference, please contact: [email protected] Study Highlights Wave I is a multi-part, first-in-human proof-of-concept clinical study designed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), and efficacy of LQT-1213 in patients with both acquired and congenital forms of Long QT Syndrome. Part 1 results were presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session in March 2024. Read the full poster here. Part 2 is a single-blind, placebo run-in, multiple-dose safety study in participants with cLQTS Type 2 or 3. Results were presented at the Heart Rhythm Society Annual Meeting in April 2025. Read the full abstract here. More about the Wave I study (Parts 1 and 2) can be found at: About Thyrv's SGK1 Inhibitors Thryv Therapeutics is advancing a series of potent and selective SGK1 (serum and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1) inhibitors that target the underlying causes of electrical and structural remodelling which leads to cardiac conditions such as Long QT Syndrome, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. In heart tissue, SGK1 has been shown to adversely affect ion channel function and surface expression. Its activation is implicated in prolongation of the QT interval, contributing to both congenital and acquired forms of LQTS and adverse outcomes in cardiometabolic diseases such as heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Inhibition of SGK1 may address the root cause of electrical dysfunction and offer a disease-modifying therapy by targeting both electrical and structural remodeling of cardiomyocytes. About Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is a disorder of the heart's electrical system that delays ventricular repolarization, prolonging the QT interval on an ECG. This can lead to torsade de pointes — a potentially fatal arrhythmia — and sudden cardiac death. LQTS can be congenital, caused by mutations in cardiac ion channel genes (commonly LQT1, LQT2, or LQT3), or acquired, resulting from medications or medical conditions. Congenital LQTS is a rare orphan disease, affecting approximately 1 in 2,000 people worldwide. About Thryv Therapeutics Thryv Therapeutics Inc. is a privately owned company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Thryv is pioneering a precision medicine approach to treat Long QT Syndrome, heart failure and atrial fibrillation with potent and highly selective inhibitors of serum glucocorticoid inducible kinase 1 (SGK1). For more information, please visit
